Category Archives: DESSERTS

Mmm, it’s Easter, so what better way to celebrate than with this scrumptious chocolate decadence by top chef Jason Atherton of London restaurant Pollen street social. I’m forever baking chocolate cakes, and I have so many favourite recipes, but the hint of spice in here is perfect for this time of the year. Jason does his with lemon thyme, but I find it’s not an ingredient that I normally have lying around, and it tastes just as delicious without.

Spiced chocolate cake with macerated raspberries

Ingredients (makes 8-10 slices)

200g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus extra to grease the dish

2 tbsp plain flour, plus extra to dust

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground allspice

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

200g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped

150g caster sugar

5 large eggs, separated

250g raspberries

3 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra to dust

Method

1. First, prepare the macerated raspberries. In a bowl, whisk the icing sugar with 3 tbsp warm water until dissolved, then add the raspberries and toss gently. Set aside to macerate for an hour or so. If you can get your hands on wild strawberries, the taste is even more intense en delicious.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Grease the base and sides of a 23cm Pyrex flan dish, 4cm deep, with butter and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

3. Sift the 2 tbsp flour with the spices and set aside. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and spiced flour. Let cool slightly for a minute or two, then beat in the egg yolks until well combined.

4. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold into the chocolate mixture, a third at a time.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and bake for about 30 minutes until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out with some moist crumbs attached. Leave in the dish to firm up a little, then transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. The cake will rise and the top is likely to crack in the oven, then it will collapse slightly on cooling.

Yum!!

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